Should You Get a Water Treatment With Chlorine Removal?

As you probably know, most public water supplies are treated with chlorine. The reason? It kills harmful bacteria and other microorganisms. So chlorine helps keep your tap water safe to drink.

But chlorine has some downsides too. The chemical can dry out your skin and hair. And some research shows that chlorine byproducts may have negative health effects over many years of exposure.

So should you have chlorine removed from your water? Or just live with it?

As a professional water treatment supplier, I will share what you need to know to decide…

Why Water Treatment Plants Use Chlorine

First, let’s quickly cover why public water supplies are chlorinated in the first place.

The short answer? To kill nasty microorganisms.

Back in the early 1900s, waterborne illnesses like typhoid fever and dysentery were common in the US. These diseases killed lots of people.

So cities started adding chlorine to their water supplies. The disinfectant killed bacteria and viruses in the water. And cases of waterborne disease dropped dramatically.

Today the process of adding chlorine is called “chlorination”. And chlorine is still the most widely used water disinfectant in the US.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires water utilities to add chlorine to water from surface sources like rivers and lakes. And the vast majority of utilities also chlorinate groundwater, even though it’s cleaner to begin with.

So yeah, if your water comes from a public supply, it contains chlorine.

Key Takeaway: Water utilities chlorinate tap water to kill microbes and pathogens. This protects public health.

The Benefits of Having Chlorine Removed

Now that you know why chlorine is added, let’s talk about whether or not you should have it removed.

Here are the main benefits of installing a chlorine removal system at home:

1. Improves Taste and Odor

Chlorine can give your water a strong chemical smell and taste. And not everyone likes having bleachy-tasting water coming out of their tap.

Water filtration systems with chlorine removal significantly reduce odor and improve taste. So removing chlorine can make your water much more pleasant to drink.

2. Protects Your Skin and Hair

Taking long hot showers in chlorinated water isn’t great for your skin and hair. The chlorine dries your skin and scalp out. And over years of exposure, this can make you look older.

(In fact, swimming regularly in chlorinated pools has similar effects.)

Not only that, the chlorine can turn blonde hair greenish and fade dyed hair.

Filtering out the chlorine helps avoid “swimmers hair and skin”. Your locks will look better. And removing chlorine from shower water leaves your skin feeling smoother and fresher.

3. May Reduce Health Risks

This benefit is controversial. But some health experts believe that removing chlorine from drinking water reduces cancer risk.

Here’s why:

When chlorine interacts with stuff already in your water, toxic chemicals called “disinfection byproducts” form. Over years of exposure, these byproducts may increase cancer risk.

For example, one disinfection byproduct is trihalomethanes (THMs). Studies link long-term ingestion of THMs to bladder and colon cancer.

Now, research is still ongoing in this area. And not all doctors agree that trace chlorine byproducts actually impact health in a meaningful way.

But if you’re concerned, removing chlorine from your drinking and cooking water can give you peace of mind.

The Downsides of Chlorine Removal Systems

Removing chlorine from home tap water also comes with a few potential drawbacks to consider:

Cost: Adding a chlorine filtration system isn’t free. You’ll have an upfront equipment and installation cost. And ongoing filter replacements add to lifetime system cost. We’ll break down exact costs later in this article.

Maintenance: Chlorine removal systems need periodic maintenance like changing filters. If you don’t do the required cartridge swaps, filtration effectiveness drops off over time.

No Residual Disinfection: Chlorine continues to disinfect water even after treatment. This “residual disinfection” prevents recontamination as water travels to your home. Removing chlorine eliminates this safeguard. However, the risk of dangerous pathogen growth in water pipes is relatively low.

Byproduct Removal: Not all chlorine filtration systems remove disinfection byproducts. So if you’re mainly concerned about long-term byproduct exposure, make sure to choose a system that specifically filters out THMs and HAAs.

Water Treatment Systems That Remove Chlorine

Now that you understand the pros and cons of chlorine filtration, let’s take a quick look at the leading types of systems:

Reverse Osmosis (RO)

Reverse osmosis pushes water through a semi-permeable membrane that traps contaminants and lets water molecules pass through.

RO removes 95-99% of chlorine and also filters out disinfection byproducts. And it eliminates other water contaminants too.

The main downside of RO is water wastage. Because the RO membrane traps some water during filtration, RO systems require a drain connection. They waste 2-3 gallons of water for every purified gallon produced.

Activated Carbon Filtration

Activated carbon chlorine removal systems use specially treated carbon to grab and hold chlorine compounds. The more porous “activated” carbon has massive surface area for trapping impurities in water.

Top carbon block filters remove 90-95% of chlorine, improve taste/odor, and have very little water wastage. On the negative side, basic carbon filters allow some disinfection byproducts through.

Catalytic Carbon

Catalytic carbon uses carbon specially treated to convert chlorine into harmless chloride ions. This process removes chlorine more effectively than basic activated carbon.

Catalytic carbon filters reduce 99% of chlorine. And they convert certain chlorine byproducts into non-toxic forms. The downside is catalytic carbon is more expensive and still doesn’t grab all disinfection byproducts.

Whole House Vs. Point-of-Use Chlorine Removal

The next decision is whether you want whole-house or point-of-use chlorine filtration.

As you might guess from the name, whole-house systems remove chlorine from all the water entering your home. Because all taps, showers and appliances run chlorine-free water, everyone in your home benefits.

The main advantages of whole-house units are:

• All household water lacks chlorine
• Single system protects all plumbing fixtures from corrosion
• May raise home value

Point-of-use filters sit at a single tap or supply a single appliance like a fridge or water cooler.

Here are the pros of point-of-use chlorine removal:

• Lower upfront equipment/installation cost
• Waste less water than whole-house RO
• Portable to take with you when traveling

If your main goal is improving drinking and cooking water, a fridge or countertop filtration unit is a good fit. Whole-house systems make more sense if you want chlorine-free bathing/showering water too.

How Much Does Chlorine Removal Cost?

Let’s break down the costs to help decide whether chlorine filtration fits your budget.

Whole-house systems have higher upfront price tags, running $750 to $4,000 installed. But they last 10-15 years, keeping lifetime costs reasonable.

Expect to budget:

• $750 to $2,000 for an activated carbon whole-house filter
• $2,000 to $4,000 for a whole-house reverse osmosis system

In addition, figure around $100 to $250 per year for ongoing filter cartridge changes.

Point-of-use systems start around $40 to $400 depending on type:

• Pitcher filters ($40 to $100)
• Faucet mounts ($100 to $250)
• Under sink units ($200 to $400)
• Refrigerator water filters (built into most models)

Replacement filters run $10 to $100 every 6 to 12 months.

So go with point-of-use if cash is tight right now. Down the road, a whole-house chlorine removal system can make sense if your budget expands.

Should You Remove Chlorine From Your Water?

Let’s wrap things up.

Should you get a water treatment system to remove chlorine?

For most households on public water supplies, chlorine removal offers tangible benefits that justify the investment long-term.

Upgrading to chlorine-free water ensures great taste and protects skin, hair and clothing. It also reduces exposure to questionable chlorine byproducts.

From an environmental angle, removing the need for plastic water bottles is another plus.

For some consumers, zero-chlorine water provides significant peace of mind as an extra health safeguard. Although current evidence that chlorination byproducts increase disease risk is still inconclusive.

Now you know why water utilities add chlorine. And whether home chlorine removal aligns with your personal priorities.

Hope this complete guide helps you decide if installing a chlorine filtration system makes good sense for your household!